Grief
by Felixsilvestris
Summary: An alternate ending to the Dark Tournament.
1. Chapter 1

The outcome of the final match of the dark tournament had been a case of mixed emotions for Shizuru.

She has always been good at keeping her emotions in check, especially around other people, and she had been going quite well, up to the point where Yusuke's severed head fell to the ground at Toguro's feet.

Death.

Had she ever really stopped to consider that possibility? Seriously? Of course, she feared it, but had never let herself think of it as a probable outcome to this tournament.

Yet now it was to outcome.

And they were all destined for death.

Because Yusuke had let them down.

His body slumped to the ground, like some sick parody of defeat, and landed beside to head, which wore still the mild surprise of Toguro's hand slicing through his neck.

She felt Keiko break with grief.

She would never recover.

Only death would stop the pain.

And it was death Keiko would get.

Sakyou still wore the quietly confident smile he had worn for the entire length of the battle. Almost a mocking smile. No – it was mocking. Definitely.

Of course Toguro had won. How could she or anyone else have been stupid enough to think otherwise?

Because of hope.

Stupid hope.

The other four members of Team Urameshi stared at their friend with little registration. They were, like the girls in the stand, trying to convince themselves it was a mirage. An illusion.

A joke.

The tournament committee emerged sooner than expected, as though they already knew the final result, and were simply waiting for the battle to end from the sidelines.

"It can't be…"

The first spoken words since the defeat shattered any hope that still remained. Keiko's broken voice certified what Shizuru already thought.

There was no joke. This was real.

Yusuke was dead.

And they were going to die too.


	2. Chapter 2

"Your wish?"  
The head of the tournament committee directed the question at younger Toguro.  
His face was unreadable, and when he replied, it was Yusuke's dead body he addressed.  
"You did not find your true strength, and for that, you will suffer."  
Now he turned to the obesely rich men, awaiting his request.  
"I wish the death of all Urameshi's team, friends and family."  
Keiko stifled a scream. Shizuru felt the life drain from her body.  
"Could you elaborate?"  
"Them," he nodded to remaining team. "them," he pointed to the girls in the crowd. "and a woman by the name of Atsuko Urameshi, who is Yusuke's mother. I'm sure that is within your power?"  
"Yes of course, we'll get that over with first of all."  
Those who had been named looked on with sheer disbebelief. What made it worse was that they were all too weak to stop it.  
Shizuru felt a sharp point driving into her back, forcing her to her feet.  
The demon guards who the girls had evaded on one occasion, now took their revenge and led them down to the obliterated ring. A similar group of guards escorted Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei to stand before the victors.  
"Takahashi."  
"Yes, Mr Taniyama?"  
"Make a call. Have Ms. Urameshi erased as quickly and quietly as possible."  
"Yes, Mr Taniyama."  
Taniyama turned back to the matter at hand, his squinting eyes surveying the humans.

"Which would you like to die first, Toguro?"  
"I don't really care."  
Shizuru looked to Kuwabara, expecting him to fight back; to take revenge.  
He just stood there.  
Empty, like her.  
Normally, she would have fought back. But then, she had had a will.  
She had no will now.  
"Fine." Taniyama signalled to one of the demons.  
Without so much as a second thought, he ran a jagged sword through her brother's heart.  
Shizuru fell with the shock, but felt herself caught by a pair of arms. Strong arms; definite arms.

"This girl's not with them."  
"Eh?" Taniyama glared at Sakyou. "Why was she sitting with them then?"  
"Coincidence I assume."  
"What makes you so sure?"  
"She's my niece."  
The lie was told easily; eloquently even. But Taniyama only snorted his assent.  
"Whatever."  
She let herself be led away from her friends, too stricken to object.  
She wanted to die with them, but the option had been taken from her.  
"If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut and do as I say."  
The words were kind in the sense that they were selfless, but Shizuru still felt a sting.


	3. Chapter 3

The carnage that followed stayed with Shizuru for her whole life; like she had lost an eye, or part of her mind.  
Or her soul.  
Botan and Keiko died together.  
Simultaneously.  
Both their kind, young faces murdered.  
Yukina went next, her frail face guilt stricken and tear-stained.  
Her Brother watched, unable to call sense or strength to him.  
His last possible reason for existence was gone, and he welcomed the blade that sliced through his back.  
Kurama looked at the dead bodies around him.  
He must have seen many such corpses in his long life.  
But nothing could have been so heart wrenching.  
So unbearable.  
His sweet green eyes, which should have belonged to an angel, raised themselves to look at Shizuru.  
To pity her that she would have to live with the grief.  
She saw reflected in his eyes her own face, distorted by tears.  
And she saw something else.  
A swelling emotion she had never noticed before.  
A love and care so deep and sudden it hurt her to experience it.  
She had never known he felt that way.  
The blood which was dry on his chest now mingled with a new blood.  
A blood which dimmed his scarlet hair and ran from the corners of his lips.  
And then he joined his friends


	4. Chapter 4

Shizuru found herself incaple of looking too long at Kurama's dead body, and so turned her attention back to Keiko.  
Puu lay stiff in her arms; he had passed away with Yusuke, poor thing.  
But there was someone missing.  
She hadn't even noticed until then.  
"Where's Lord Daioh?"

Taniyama seemed to be thinking along the same lines.  
"Escaped, I daresay." was Sakyou's calm reply. "But don't worry. Even though he wagered his life on this fight, killing him wouldn't be good for any of us, would it?"  
"No, I don't suppose."  
Taniyama turned to Toguro, his perpetually narrowed eyes glaring a smile.  
"Has the wish been fulfilled to your satisfaction?"  
"I wouldn't call it satisfaction," he replied. "But it will have to do."  
This said, he turned and walked away from them all, his frame somehow less magnificent than it had once been.  
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you." Sakyou's farewelled him unfeelingly.  
Toguro paused, his face set, his mind somewhere else.  
Then, without a word, he began walking again

It was the last Shizuru ever saw or heard of him.  
"Mr Sakyou, I assume you have a wish? Unless you participated in this tournament for the thrill of it."  
"Partly. " And here he turned away from the committee.  
"My wish is to open a tunnel between the demon and human worlds. Wide enough so that all manner of monsters may enter this realm at will."

Taniyama's face was somewhere between shock and disbelief.

But also angry.  
"Excuse me?"  
"You heard me. If winning the tournament wasn't enough, you are already away that I'm a multi-trillionaire, and can do it without your help. It will just mean more work for me and a swift death for you fools."  
Taniyama exchanged glances with his comrades; glances which spoke words of agreement. Not to Sakyou's wish, but to their own.  
"Mr Sakyou, what you propose is ridiculous. We cannot allow you to cause this damage."  
"How do you plan to stop me?"  
The question was almost a challenge. Taniyama only laughed.  
"Fool. You forget that your dear Toguro has left. You've lost your last defence."  
He turned to the demons behind him.  
"Kill him."  
Shizuru stepped back from Sakyou, but discovered immediately it was not needed.  
The demons were not moving.  
Taniyama grunted. "Idiots – did you hear me?"  
Shizuru glared at them. She tried to will them to kill Sakyou.  
He was deranged.  
He would be the death of all humans.  
Yet they did not move.  
They had so easily slaughtered her friends, so why stop now?  
"Sir," It was the leader who spoke, addressing Taniyama directly. "It is you who must die."

"What?!" He was angry, irritated, but didn't seem to register the sincerity of the threat.  
"What are you talking about?"  
"Sir," the demon continued. "Do you think any sane demon would pass up the opportunity to see their home world opened up to this pathetic realm? It's what we've all been hoping for."  
Taniyama began to look worried.  
"You're not serious?" His voice was barely a whisper.  
"Yes sir. Either you grant Mr Sakyou's wish, or we will have no choice but to kill you all."  
"Don't bother."  
Sakou's voice cut into the conversation, quiet yet audible.  
"They have proven their disloyalty to my cause. I'd rather they were dead."  
Shizuru tried to block out what she was hearing.  
Everthing she had heard.  
She had never thought a man could be so evil.  
How wrong she had been.  
She never saw the death of the committee.  
She didn't even have to look away.  
The whole enormity of the matter simply took her in its arms and cast her into oblivion.  
Shizuru was unconcious before she hit the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

"Shizuru."  
"I'm dead."  
"You're not dead."  
"I wish I was."  
A silence ensued, and Shizuru felt herself compelled to open her eyes.  
She was lying on a bed, staring up at a black ceiling.  
It was almost completely dark, apart from an orange glow which came from a corner of the room.  
The faint smell of alcohol and cigarettes brought her to her senses.  
The voice which had spoken had sounded faint, so it was probably from the same source as the light.  
She wondered if she should sit up.  
Did she dare?  
She shut her eyes again.  
Because tears were welling there again.  
She wished she had power over her tears now. She usually did.  
"Would you like a drink?"  
The voice sounded kind enough.  
She pulled herself up, until she was sitting on the edge of the small bed. It looked as though she was in a hospital room.  
No, it was too warm for that.  
Yet other small beds lined the walls.  
Like toy soldiers.  
Soldiers about to die.

Why did everyone die?  
Why was she alive?  
Was there a God?  
Did he even care?  
"You'll feel better if you're by the fire."  
Shizuru stood, her eyes cast down to the floor.  
She was wearing the same clothes.  
Clothes which seemed to be soaked with blood.  
She moved towards the light, and felt the air grow warmer as she neared.  
"You look tired."  
Now she looked up.  
She had to.  
Sakyou.  
He sat there looking calm.  
Guiltless.  
Even generous.  
"I am."  
He smiled.  
"I'm also bloody thirsty."  
Sakyou gestured to the half empty bottle of wine on the coffee table before him.  
She took the empty chair opposite, and poured herself a full glass.


	6. Chapter 6

Neither party spoke for twenty long minutes.  
Shizuru would occasionally steal glances over the rim of her glass.  
Sakyou always seemed preoccupied.  
Was he ignoring her?  
Was he waiting for her to speak first?  
After her third glass, Shizuru felt animated, but still frail.  
"Got any smokes?"  
He obligingly held out a packet, and lit a cigarette for her.  
Now she felt calmed.  
Almost at ease.  
The urge to cry seemed to have vanished.  
"So. Shizuru."  
She shuddered at the voice.  
That twisted voice.  
That made her feel so secure.  
"You'll be wanting to return home?"  
She blinked.  
Was he mocking her?  
"After all, that is the reason I saved you."  
"Home to what?"  
She said it out loud, though she hadn't intended to.  
"To life."  
"My baby brother was my life. Him and all his stupid friends."  
She couldn't help but think of Yusuke as she said this.  
She continued. "After mum and dad died, we were all we had. And now every relationship I have, which has been built through him, has been destroyed. Load of bull, right?"  
He didn't answer immediately.  
"You could always start again. Things will be financially better for you now."  
"You didn't hear me at all, did you? I wasn't talking about money."  
This time he didn't reply, only took another sip of wine.  
"He was an idiot; my brother. But he was a real sweetie. And hanging out with that crowd actually made him better at everything. Especially Kurama. I think those two really bonded."  
She realised her eyes were moist, and stopped abruptly.

"That's some really good wine."  
"Thank you."  
"I'm tempted to drown my sorrows in it."  
"That's a very expensive method of forgetting."  
"You've got the money."  
He seemed to laugh somewhere within himself.  
"Kurama. He was really nice. I was so glad when he survived his match against Karasu. Pity his extra life was wasted. You know, I never had a proper conversation with him. Not really. That would have been nice."  
She paused, and seemed to be deliberating over a difficult question.  
She finally made up her mind, and had another glass of wine.  
Her inhibitions were totally gone now.  
"Hiei never got to tell Yukina he was her brother. He should have done that earlier. But he was just too stubborn. Even though she totally deserved to know. And Keiko never went on a date with Yusuke. Still, they got their first kiss."  
The hearth before the two chairs was slowly dying.  
Like her.  
"It's a pointless war you're fighting."

Sayou looked up, surprised.

"Oh?"

"Koenma will get the whole of spirit world on you. You wait and see. You may have the money, but if Heaven's not on your side, you're stuffed."


	7. Chapter 7

Sakyou seemed to find this amusing, and continued to drink.

Shizuru wondered if he really cared about anything.

Even his own life.

Probably not.

"When I was seventeen, Kuwabara broke his neck."

Why was she saying this?

Well, why not?

"He was always in fights, you see. This injury was caused by Yusuke if I remember rightly. Anyway, I didn't have enough money to get it fixed, so I took up a job for one week. Thing is, the only job I could get quickly enough, was as a stripper in a downtown club. Kuwabara would have killed me – had he found out."

She felt herself laughing in spite of herself.

"It was such good pay, I almost kept the job. But the same day his treatment was paid for, I found myself essentially unemployed. I still haven't become what I've wanted to be since I was twelve. A beautician. It's funny…"

She tailed off, not actually sure what was funny.

She wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"But, why am I telling a sociopath all this? It's not like you'd understand."

She stood.

"Yeah, I think I'll take up your offer. I'd like to go home. Maybe find some new friends. Get married. Get a real job."

"You're right."

She froze where she stood, and stared at him.

"Pardon?"

"You're right that I don't understand."

His voice was sincere.

"Well, whatever. Can I go now?"

Sakyou put down his empty glass on the table.

"I'll have you taken back tomorrow morning."

Shizuru looked at him a long moment, then shrugged.

"Thanks."

She walked down the middle of the two rows of beds.

She still wasn't sure what kind of room this was.

But she didn't care.

She slipped back into the bed she had been sleeping in earlier, and willed herself to rest. But the uncomfortable feeling that Sakyou was still in the room kept her from sleep for some hours.


	8. Chapter 8

It was a sunny day.

Sunny and happy.

Shizuru could see students walking to school.

She saw some from Kuwabara's school.

She was trying not to cry.

Shizuru sat inside a dark car.

Dark with tinted windows.

So she could see out, but no one could see in.

Sakyou sat in the driver's seat on her right.

She had not expected him to give her a lift himself.

But perhaps he felt guilty? Did he want to apologise?

No.

She knew he didn't.

She made to open the door, but his voice stayed her hand.

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if Lord Daioh made you the next spirit detective. You certainly have the skill and intuition."

She tried to laugh, but ended up only sobbing.

An awkward silence followed, and Shizuru stared at the red Mitsubishi in front if them.

"You must hate me."

It was a line which should have been said in hurt or hurtful tones.

Yet Sakyou managed to say it with distance and disdain.

"I don't think there's enough left of my soul to hate anyone at the moment."

Another silence passed between them.

Shizuru looked up to her house next to the road, and saw Eikichi in one of the windows.

A neighbour had been feeding her. Shizuru would have to ring and tell them she was back.

Her. But not her brother.

Eikichi would miss Kuwabara.

"You should go now."

His tone was final and commanding, and Shizuru dared not linger.

She undid her seatbelt, and her hand was on the door when Sakyou spoke again.

"Shizuru?"

She turned, and found herself facing an unrecognisable man.

His face seemed soft now, and even emotional.

"What?"

He leant forward, and she felt his lips barely brush hers before he sharply pulled away.

To her horror, she found herself blushing.

"I hope you find yourself a good job and husband. You deserve both."

That said, her gave her a final, but gentle push out of the car.

She barely got to see his face before he shut the door.

The engine started up straight away.

Shizuru watched him drive away, her fingers resting on her lips, her cheeks still burning.

She looked behind her at the house.

Eikichi had noticed her return, and was mewing excitedly at the window.

Her future looked uncertain from here, in a terrifyingly refreshing way.

She never saw Sakyou again.

She heard some months later from Botan about his death at the hands of the Spirit Defence force, only weeks after that day.

That had been the same time Koenma had offered her the position of Spirit detective.

And also when she had started dating Rei, an effeminate but dead straight student at the fashion college she had enrolled at.

But, as she stood outside her house, lonely and distraught, she could not have known any of this.

Just like she had not known that Kurama loved her.

Just like she did not know that Koenma had raised Genkai from the dead.

Just like she did not know that as he drove away, in his expensive black car, Sakyou was crying.

Tears both of confusion and grief.

The end


End file.
